PUNC XI: EYE OF THE STORM 2018 The Apartheid Divide Sponsored by: Presented by: Table of Contents Letter from the Crisis Director Page 2 Letter from the Chair Page 4 Committee History Page 6 Delegate Positions Page 8 Committee Structure Page 11 1 Letter From the Crisis Director Hello, and welcome to The Apartheid Divide! My name is Allison Brown and I will be your Crisis Director for this committee. I am a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Biochemicals. This is my second time being a Crisis Director, and my fourth time staffing a conference. I have been participating in Model United Nations conferences since high school and have continued doing so ever since I arrived at Penn State. Participating in the Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association has helped to shape my college experience. Even though I am an engineering major, I am passionate about current events, politics, and international relations. This club has allowed me to keep up with my passion, while also keeping with my other passion; biology. I really enjoy being a Crisis Director and I am so excited to do it again! This committee is going to focus on a very serious topic from our world’s past; Apartheid. The members of the Presidents Council during this time were quite the collection of people. It is important during the course of this conference that you remember to be respectful to other delegates (both in and out of character) and to be thoughtful before making decisions or speeches. If you ever feel uncomfortable, please inform myself or the chair, Sneha, and we will address the issue. While this is a serious and sometimes uncomfortable topic, it has a lot of potential for debate and deliberation. My hope is that over the course of this weekend, the committee can solve or make steps toward solving this issue. I am looking forward to seeing the creativity and thoughtfulness of the delegates’ ideas - that is always my favorite part of 2 conferences. I am looking forward to this committee and I am excited to see what you all come up with! Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the conference, the committee, or even Penn State! Sincerely, Allison Brown [email protected] 3 Letter From the Chair Honorable Delegates, My name is Sneha Anmalsetty and I am delighted to act as your chair as you debate and deliberate Apartheid. Having been involved with Model United Nations since my freshman year of high school, I am always curious to see how delegates can alter history. I believe you will find, just as your real life counterparts did some decades years ago, the issue at hand to be far more complicated than it appears, rift with centuries of ethnic, cultural, and political tension. It will require a strong understanding of social politics and the role of the government in enacting change throughout a state. It is your responsibility to work cohesively with your committee members to create a prosperous future for South Africa, in whatever form that may be. Other than being your chair, however, I am also a freshman in the College of Engineering at Penn State, pursuing a major in biomedical engineering with a hopeful minor in economics, Spanish, or health policy administration on the pre-medicine track. Along with being a member of PSIADA, I also participate in Club Taekwondo as a black belt. I contribute to the Penn State literary magazine, Kalliope, and participate in the Undergraduate Research Society. On the weekends, you’ll often find me sipping on matcha bubble tea or curled up in my blankets watching political crime dramas and comedy sitcoms. 4 I am looking forward to meeting you all in March and interested to see how you respond to the challenges that South Africa will face throughout the conference. Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about Penn State or PUNC. Welcome to Happy Valley! All my best, Sneha Anmalsetty [email protected] 5 Committee History The President’s Council, convened in 1989, was composed of 60 members. 20 from the House of Assembly, 10 from the House of Representatives, 5 from the House of Delegates, and 25 appointed by the State/State President. This caused the breakdown to effectively be, 20 white, 10 coloured, and 5 indian delegates, with 25 others being directly nominated. This council was convened in order to resolve disputes between the three Houses regarding general affairs and legislation. This council, along with the electoral college, made it incredibly difficult for the white vote to be outnumbered. The National Party had much of the power in their hands, and Botha, a prominent member of the National Party, served as the country’s prime minister since 1977. It was not until 1994 that South Africa adopted the first non-racial constitution, and Nelson Mandela was appointed as the President. There were many important parties at this time in South Africa’s history. In the House of Assembly, there were three major parties; the National Party, the Conservative Party, and the Democratic Party. In the House of Delegates, the Colored Labour Party was important. In the House of Representatives, the Solidarity Party was important. The other members nominated by the President were also of the National Party. The Conservative Party of South Africa was a right-wing party that sought to preserve the last vestiges that remained of apartheid. They were the official opposition in the whites-only House of Assembly, but declined quickly after the demise of apartheid and were merged with the Freedom Front in 2004. The general election of 1989 was the last non-racial election, and the Conservative Party took a significant percentage of the white vote in South Africa. They led the 6 “No” vote when the de Klerk and the National and Democratic Parties were seeking to end apartheid. The Democratic Party was the name of the political party that is now known as the Democratic Alliance. The Democratic Party was officially convened in 1989, but was previously known under other names during apartheid; it was previously the opposition to the ruling National Party. They were part of the campaign to end apartheid; the “Yes” Vote. The National Party was the ruling party of South Africa from 1924 to WWII and from 1948 to 1994. When the party returned to power they implemented new racial segregation laws - Apartheid. The National Party also sought to establish a republic and preserve Afrikaner cultures. From this party, came the Conservative Party. The Conservatives were formed because of members who were unhappy with how the National Party had begun dismantling apartheid during the 1980s. In 1989, P. W. Botha resigned as National Party leader and as State President. He was then replaced by the much more liberal F. W. de Klerk. The Labour Party was founded in 1969, and was opposed to apartheid. They participated in the Coloured Persons Representative Council, which was a legislative body with very limited powers, that was used to give coloured South Africans some power during apartheid. It was dissolved in 1980, and turned into the House of Representatives in 1984. 7 Delegate Positions House of Assembly (4 positions) ● National Party (2 positions) ● Pik Botha - Botha, a prominent member of the National Party, has served as ​ ​ the country’s foreign minister since 1977 under former leaders P. W. Botha and B. J. Voster.has spent much of his career defending apartheid against foreign criticism. Botha tried to run for leader of the NP in 1978, but ultimately withdrew his candidacy over concerns about his liberal stances and his perceived youth. He once again lost in his bid for the leadership of the NP in 1989 Botha recently signed a peace protocol with the President of the Republic of the Congo, and said at the signing that “[his] government is removing racial discrimination. We want to be accepted by our African brothers". His nickname Pik is short for pikkewyn (Afrikaans for penguin) due to his likeness to a penguin’s stance, especially when wearing a suit ● Barend du Plessis - Du Plesis serves as the minister of finance in the new de ​ ​ Klerk cabinet, a position he carries over from the previous Botha administration. Du Plesis inherited a complex situation with the dropping price of gold and a severe drought that struck during the Botha era. He was also tasked with restructuring South African international credit so that foreign banks could still extend short-term credit to South Afric. Du Plesis also contested for the leadership of the National Party, but was defeated in the final round by de Klerk. Du Plesis was also at the signing of the Peace Protocol alongside Pik Botha. ● Conservative Party (1 position) ● Andries Treurnicht - Treurnicht was one of the initial 22 members that quit ​ ​ the National Party in 1982 to form the Conservative Party (CP). He was an opponent of P. W. Botha and the the National Party’s reforms to apartheid. Under him the CP was a strong advocate for self-determination, as opposed to the rise of power-sharing policies with Coloureds and Blacks. In June 1989 Treurnicht and several other CP officials travelled to London and other European capitals to gain support for the party’s goals. Under Treurnicht, the CP was able to unseat the Progressive Party as the formal opposition party. 8 ● Democratic Party (1 position) ● Zach de Beer - Following the loss of its status as the formal opposition party in ​ ​ 1987, De Beer took over the leadership of the Progressive Federal Party (PFP).